Why Coffee Needs to be Stored Properly

Coffee is a perishable product that has an expiration date. It loses it’s freshness as time goes on.

When you don’t have fresh coffee beans or grind, you’re not getting the best cup of coffee possible.

Even if you roast the beans yourself, the wrong container can leave your beans to be assaulted by all the things that can cause coffee to lose its great flavour.

Oxygen and CO2: Coffee Vaults to the Rescue

Coffee that is fresh roasted at home needs to be stored in a coffee vault.

The reason for a vault is two-fold. You’ll want a way to remove the CO2 from the beans to ensure that they’re vented in an even manner.

If the coffee beans are left to degas on their own, the process happens in a negative way.

Along with degassing the beans properly, the vault will eliminate all the elements that erode the beans. Those elements are moisture, heat, air, and light.

Avoiding Moisture in Your Beans and Grind

Moisture is one of the biggest problems you’ll find with your beans or grind. It’ll start deteriorating the coffee before you can make even a few cups.

Coffee should be stored in a dry, cool location, but never in a place where it’ll be exposed to moisture.

That includes storing your coffee in the fridge. You can keep your grind in the freezer before you open the package, but you shouldn’t be opening and closing the container or bag and refreezing it.

Roasting and Heat When Storing

Once you’ve roasted the beans to the desired color for the flavor, you don’t want to expose the beans to heat. Avoid storing your beans near a sunny window or the stove.

The only time you’ll want to add heat to the beans is after grinding when it’s time to brew.

The flavor of your beans, and ultimately your coffee, will be altered if you allow the beans or grind to be exposed to heat.

Dark and Light Coffee Beans

Coffee beans and grind will break down when exposed to light.

Light beans as well as dark beans shouldn’t be stored in glass containers unless they’re stored in a dark cabinet.

It’s tempting to display your beans or grind on the counter, but you’ll be compromising the quality of your coffee.

Degassing the CO2: Choosing the Right Vault

What is Degassing, and When Will the Coffee be Ready?

After roasting, coffee beans form gases that need to be vented properly. Those gases (carbon dioxide specifically) have to be vented in an even manner. If they are not vented evenly or they’re allowed to dissipate too quickly, the coffee won’t taste its best.

Degassing the beans can take a few days to a week before they’re ready to grind for your brew. If you roast them yourself, you’ll want to store the beans in a vault with a vent for degassing. It’ll allow the gas to leave at a steady rate.

Think of your beans like a fine wine. You’ll want to allow the beans to sit for a bit before you brew them. If you wait too long though, you end up with stale coffee.

There’s an art and science to the right amount of degassing needed. A coffee vault will help you with the process, so you’ll end up with the perfect process.

It’s sometime between freshly roasted beans and oxidization that you’ll find the perfect cup of coffee.

Should You Pre-Grind to Avoid Degassing?

The first 24 hours after roasting will release approximately 40% of the CO2 in your beans. If you grind and brew the beans too early, all that CO2 will influence the taste in your cup.

The best way to get a good taste in your cup is by grinding the beans only after a few days. They’ll have had time to degas enough for a great cup of coffee.

Roasting and brewing isn’t incredibly complicated except there are things you’ll want to do to have the best cup at home.

Roasting your own beans is a good start, but storing in a coffee vault is really how you’ll keep the beans fresh.